I think we'll see the old Newt appear --- probably so ... the one with 86 ethics charges who had to resign in shame
On Dec 23, 12:04 pm, Coach <[email protected]> wrote: > Gingrich adopted the "nice" strategy not out of compassion for his > party, but because of his lack of funds to attack back. Fill his > coffers with some dough, and I think we'll see the old Newt appear. > > On Dec 23, 9:57 am, MJ <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > > > > > > Gingrich and his ‘nice’ strategy are under fire from attack ads in IowaBy > > Amy Gardner, Published: December 22 > > KNOXVILLE, Iowa The unorthodoxy of Newt Gingrich’s presidential campaign > > will either make or break him, and it will happen in Iowa, where he is > > bleeding support under a hail of harsh TV advertising from opponents and > > their allies. > > Gingrich’s answer to the barrage has been to try to stay “nice.” It’s a > > strategy that not only defies the former House speaker’s instinct for > > combat but also is producing uncertain results as it is pitted against the > > proven effectiveness of negative ads particularly the millions of dollars’ > > worth that are piping through Iowa televisions in these final two weeks > > before the Jan. 3 caucuses. > > Staying positive is not the only way in which Gingrich is following an > > unconventional script. Until this month, Gingrich’s campaign staff featured > > virtually no one who had worked on a presidential campaign. > > The candidate expresses his disdain for paid consultants every chance he > > gets. He celebrates the young man from Topeka who runs the candidate’s > > Twitter feeds from the counter of his father’s auto-repair shop and the > > social-media executive from California who moonlights in charge of > > Gingrich’s Facebook page. > > Most of all, Gingrich relies on his own instinct, an almost religious faith > > that even without a traditional campaign operation his knowledge, > > experience and way with words will carry the day. > > The danger for him is taking it too far.‘I need your help’Gingrich’s > > resolve to fight the Iowa advertising onslaught by staying positive puts > > that confidence on vivid display even as it displays the risks. The > > approach dominated his appearances during a three-day swing through Iowa > > this week and steered him away from his message of bringing years of > > conservative leadership to the tasks of fixing the economy and Washington. > > “I want to do this based on positive ideas, not on negative campaigning, > > and I need your help to make that work,” Gingrich told a crowd of about 100 > > supporters at the Swamp Fox Pub here this week. “If somebody wanted to > > create ‘Iowans for a Positive Campaign,’ I think the number of people who > > would join it overnight would be amazing.” > > The displays have made his aides increasingly nervous and prompted some to > > urge him to get back on script. But Gingrich is doing what he thinks he has > > to do to survive. His campaign shot to the top of the polls last month > > after spending much of the year at the back of the pack. He and an > > independent committee supporting him are playing catch-up to build the > > organization and raise the money they need to stand up to the assault. > > Meanwhile,a series of public pollsshow Gingrich’s position slipping in the > > midst of the barrage of ads. > > The attacks have flooded the airwaves in ads paid for by the campaigns of > > Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Rep. Ron Paul (Tex.), as well as an independent > > super PAC supporting former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney. Among the > > topics: Gingrich’s acceptance of $1.6 million in payment from federally > > backed mortgage giant Freddie Mac; his support for taxpayer funding of > > “some abortions”; and the ethics investigation of him when he was speaker > > about his use of tax-exempt funds for a partisan educational program. > > Gingrich has pushed back hard against the charges, which he says are > > untrue. After a town hall at a heavy-equipment plant in Ottumwa this week, > > he held a lengthy news conference in which he called upon his chief rival, > > Romney, to publicly repudiate the ads being aired by “Restore Our Future,” > > an independent committee run by Romney’s supporters. Romney has declined to > > do so, arguing that the law prohibits him from communicating with the > > independent group.Gingrich fights backA few times, Gingrich’s resolve to > > stay positive has crumbled. > > In New Hampshire last week, he lashed back at Romney’s call for him to > > return his pay from Freddie Mac by describing the “millions” Romney earned > > “bankrupting companies” and laying off workers while a businessman at Bain > > Capital. This week in Iowa, Gingrich called Romney “purely dishonest” for > > saying that he couldn’t stop the independent PAC from running negative ads > > against him. > > Gingrich seemed to revel in the chance to scuffle verbally with Romney. He > > added flourishes to his argument with each successive campaign stop, as if > > resorting to a familiar set of behaviors and offering a potentially > > damaging reminder to voters of his long history as a combative and partisan > > House speaker. > > Gingrich could be doomed no matter what he does; modern American political > > history reveals that negative ads work, and whether the response is > > positive or negative, it’s difficult if not impossible to compete with the > > volume of attacks coming down on Gingrich. > > “Negative still works pretty well,” said Democratic consultant Joe Trippi, > > who watched his client in 2004, former Vermont governor Howard Dean, > > succumb to a similar barrage in Iowa after taking the lead in the race. > > “You can’t fight it. It’s not enough to push back whether it’s all positive > > or calling them all liars [Gingrich] doesn’t have enough up to push against > > it.”Emotional appeal to votersTrippi offered one caveat, however, which is > > that Gingrich’s long-standing relationship with voters could inoculate him > > against some of the charges. Additionally, Gingrich is making an emotional > > appeal that could work in Iowa, where a heavily evangelical Republican > > electorate may be open to his request for forgiveness regarding some of the > > “baggage” that his opponents are pointing out in detail. > > “Every Sunday, I preach that we’re all born into sin,” said Jim Stogdill, > > pastor of Messiah Lutheran Church in Johnston, Iowa, outside Des Moines. > > “That makes us all equal. So if that’s the case, and we’re going to apply > > that to this race, then why is this such a big deal? Either they don’t > > understand forgiveness or they’re not Christian. It’s interesting that > > Christians who believe in Christ don’t apply that to the people in their > > everyday lives.” > > Stogdill had just listened to J.C. Watts, the former Oklahoma congressman > > and perhaps most prominent Gingrich supporter, defend his friend over > > breakfast with a group of pastors. Watts spent two days in Iowa this week > > meeting with business leaders and pastors and not only making the case that > > some of the charges are false but also appealing to his audience’s > > Christian faith in forgiving Gingrich for having made mistakes. > > “When people make mistakes you shouldn’t run from them, you run to them,” > > Watts said. “That’s more the ministry part of me. We tend to kind of > > seclude ourselves from people that need our help the most, when they’re in > > the most trouble. And Newt and I, I haven’t always agreed with him, but I > > never disliked him. We always remained friends.” > > Watts added that Gingrich’s opponents Romney, Perry and Rep. Michele > > Bachmann (Minn.), for instance aren’t perfect either. “I could show you > > flaws in all of them,” he said. > > Gingrich is using the “nice” card in other ways. He has pushed his wife, > > Callista, to play amore active role on the campaign trail, where she has > > opened up more about her love for music and her Midwestern roots. (She grew > > up in Wisconsin and attended Luther College in Decorah, Iowa.) The > > Gingriches also appear in an adtogether, in which the candidate prays for > > “peace and brotherhood.” Already playing on the Internet, the ad will air > > on TV stations across Iowa on Friday. > > Staff writer Karen Tumulty in Washington contributed to this > > report.http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2011/12/22/gIQACVsUCP_story.html -- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. 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